Then the operations officer’s phone rang.
He answered, listened for five seconds, and looked directly at Marcus.
“Sir,” he said carefully, “we found the person who authorized the change.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Who?”
The officer glanced toward the cockpit, then back at Zara.
“It wasn’t Mr. Bennett,” he said. “And it wasn’t anyone at the gate.”
He paused.
“The authorization came from someone with access to your daughter’s passenger profile.”
Zara’s face went pale.
Marcus immediately pulled her closer.
“Then we find out why,” he said.
The jet bridge door remained firmly secured behind the operations team.
Outside, the night tarmac glistened under drizzle.
Inside the forward galley, the tension sat so heavy that nobody dared shift their weight.
Marcus Coleman kept his arm wrapped around his daughter’s shoulder. His face remained calm, yet his eyes held a steely focus that commanded absolute obedience.
